After The Ending
by caro1414
Summary: Rory said no to Logan and he walked away. Neither of them expect to run into each other 20 years later at a graduation party, so how does Rory explain this run in to her husband? [One shot for now]


**A/N: So this kind of popped into my head and I wanted to flush it out. As I continued writing it I thought that maybe it could be a story...but we'll see, so for now it's a one shot.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls**

"Mom! Mom!" Everly Grant smiled as she jumped into Rory Gilmore-Grant's arms, "I did it! It's done!"

"You know Ev," Rory laughed as she hugged her daughter, "some people wish they could stay in high school forever." she told her as she took in her surroundings, back at Chilton Academy over 2 decades since when she graduated from the same school.

"Where's Dad?" Everly asked, looking around for her father, "Oh, and London wants to say hi!"

"London?" Rory squinted and tried to think back to if she had ever so much as heard the name London before.

"Oh, I guess I normally call her _Elle _when I'm talking to you and Dad." Everly explained, brushing her loose brown curls out of her eyes, "You wait here, I'm going to go find her, and when you find Dad, just stay put!"

"It's your world Everly, I'm just living in it." Rory laughed as she quickly pulled a lipstick from her purse and re-applied it. She quickly adjusted her hair as she scanned the open courtyard. Her mother had gone off with Luke to find where she had left something years earlier when Rory was a student, and her husband, Jordan Grant was off making sure that Everly's graduation gift, a brand new Lexus was ready for her to receive in the parking lot along with every other Chilton graduate.

Rory had met Jordan when they were both living in Washington, he was a lawyer, she was working as a reporter fresh off of the Obama campaign trail. It didn't take long for them to become an item, Rory was covering one of Jordan's cases, and to say the least, she was persistent when it came to writing scathing articles about his client, and so when he had attempted to sue her for defamation, knowing full well it was within her rights to write whatever she wanted, they had ended up dating. It was a year later that they had become engaged, and married within 6 months. Everly Emily Grant came along 2 years after that, and the young family had moved back to Connecticut to be closer to Lorelai after Richard and Emily passed away.

"Did you know everyone gives their kid a car for graduation?" Jordan's deep voice surrounded her. He had fair skin, salt and pepper hair that had been dark brown when they first met and the most amazing green eyes she had ever seen. That was one thing about him that never changed, his eyes could see straight into her heart.

"Yes, I seem to remember that." Rory laughed as she gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek, "She will be so happy."

"Well, we won't tell her that you said she shouldn't get a new car, that she had done nothing to deserve a car?" Jordan smirked as he grasped Rory's hand, giving it a slight squeeze.

"Yeah, that can be our secret." Rory laughed as she saw Everly walking towards them, "I can't believe our little Ev is all graduated, and going to Princeton in the fall."

"Does it bother you?" Jordan asked, "The fact that she's going to Princeton instead of Yale?"

Rory took a moment to remember the time she had spent at Yale, the memories she had made. "No," she told him with a smile, "I just want her to have the same experience that I had. I had so many great experiences, and met so many amazing people...I just want her to love it as much as I did, no matter where she is."

"Well that sounded uncharacteristically brave." Jordan laughed as Everly stopped and talked to another friend on her slow trek back to her parents.

"I'll miss her." Rory laughed, leaning her head against Jordan's shoulder. Rory and Everly had always been close, not quite as close as Rory had been with her own mother, but the two had a wonderful bond.

"It'll be just us." Jordan kissed her temple, "You and I, we haven't been just us in a long time."

"Mom! Dad!" Everly grinned as she dragged her friend, London, or Elle, beside her, "You guys remember Elle?"

"Yes, of course I remember Elle," Rory smiled, "I just didn't know your name was London. Congratulations girls, you should be so proud of yourselves." Rory gave Everly another hug, "I can't believe you're all grown up, and graduated! I feel like it was just yesterday that I graduated from here. I remember how much I loved to learn, the books, and the teachers, I had the most amazing teachers."

"Ok Mom," Everly laughed awkwardly, "don't geek out too much over school. London's parents are having a big party for her, any I was supposed to invite you, but I forgot, and I know we are supposed to go for dinner with Grandma and Grandpa, but I was really hoping that we could go to this party, so I can see my friends. And I think Paris and Devon will be there too." Everly explained, referring to Paris' 18 year old son who had graduated a year early but was still friends with a lot of his former classmates.

"So you _forgot _to tell me?" Rory smirked and looked at her husband, "What do you say Jord? Dinner with some parents, or we can go home and wait for our only daughter to grace us with her presence at some point?"

"Well, when you put it that way, maybe we should just give her her present tomorrow, and go home." Jordan smiled, playing Rory's game right along with her.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Everly interrupted them, erupting into laughter, "Where is my present! You should come to the party, _and _give me my present."

"Of course we should." Rory smirked, "Come on," Rory put her arm around Everly's shoulder and began walking towards the parking lot, "You too Elle, let's go see what this spoiled little girl gets."

"You're parent's are so adorable." Elle whispered into Everly's ear as they walked.

"Well kiddo," Jordan smiled as he pulled the car keys from his pocket, nodding in the direction of a black Lexus SUV, "Mom and I are so incredibly proud of you."

"Oh my god!" Everly and Elle both squealed in delight as they ran towards the car with the big red bow, amongst a sea of other cars with big red bows.

"We did good." Jordan laughed as he gave Rory another kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Everly gave both of her parents a hug.

"You deserve it." Rory assured her.

"London! London! Honey are these your friends?" a female voice came from behind all of them.

"Mom!" London spun around, her blonde hair twirling with her body, "This is my friend Everly Grant."

"They've never met her?" Rory whispered into Jordan's ear.

"Wait and listen." Jordan smiled politely.

"Hi, it's so nice to meet you Mrs. Huntzberger." Everly smiled.

_Mrs. Huntzberger?_

Rory looked at the tall blonde, sure she was gorgeous, but she certainly wasn't Honor, Rory would never forget Honor. After graduating, and their subsequent breakup, Rory hadn't kept track of Logan. She had done everything she could not to know what had happened in his life. When they had returned to Connecticut, Rory and Jordan had built a house just outside of Stars Hollow, it allowed them to live a comfortable life, close enough to Hartford that Everly could go to all of the best schools, but far enough that they didn't have to become involved in a society life. Thankfully they both worked often enough that they always had a good excuse to pass on various different events.

"You too Everly, I know you've met my husband, but it is a pleasure to meet you. I unfortunately spend too much time away on business, and please, call me Catherine." the woman, Mrs. Huntzberger, Catherine told her, "Are these your parents?"

"Oh, yes, Mom, Dad, this is Elle's Mom."

"Nice to meet you, my name is Jordan," Jordan extended his hand, "and this is my wife, Rory Grant."

"It's a pleasure, I have heard so many amazing things about your daughter. London just raves about Everly."

"Oh, well the feeling is mutual." Rory smiled, "Everly just raves about Elle, and she is always so great when she comes to our house."

"Are you two coming to our event this evening?" Catherine asked, tucking her loose blonde hair behind her ear, "I don't I've seen you in the circles around here."

"Well, Jordan's family isn't from around here, but my Grandparent's, Emily and Richard Gilmore, they were from Hartford, we live in Stars Hollow." Rory explained.

"Mom, are we going to go to the party?" Everly interrupted.

"As long as your Dad is alright with it," Rory looked to Jordan, taking her eyes off of Catherine. "Jord, what do you think?"

"I think it will be fun." Jordan nodded.

"Great, you know what, I am going to run, my husband is already at home dealing with the caterers, so I am sure that Everly, or London can give you directions." Catherine smiled, "So nice to meet you both. Ciao for now."

xxx

"London?" Rory smiled as she looked at the girls, they were standing in the expansive foyer of London's family home, Rory was on the receiving end of a nod from London, encouraging her to continue. "Where did the name London come from?"

"Well," London smiled as she led them into what was effectively a ballroom, full of friends, parents, and teachers, "my dad lived in London when he was young. I guess he says he fell in love with the city, he always used to say it was one of the few places he loved, it felt like home. We lived there for a few years when I was a kid, but I think he's talking about before me, and before my Mom and brother, he lived there when he was right out of college." she explained, "But I go by Elle because my younger brother, he's 14 now, he couldn't say London, so he just called me Elle, so that's what I go by."

"That's a cool story." Jordan smiled, putting his hand on Rory's back, "You girls go and enjoy the party, your Mom and I will make do for a while, and we can let you know when we are leaving. Be home by midnight, alright?"

"Midnight?" Everly pouted.

"Midnight." Rory repeated.

"1?" Everly challenged her.

"Midnight." Rory told her again.

"Fine, I love you." Everly smiled as she kissed Rory on the cheek and quickly ran off with Elle.

"And then there were two." Jordan laughed as he watched the girls go to talk to a group of boys, "I never thought we would be at one of these parties and literally know no one."

"We know someone." Rory mumbled under her breath as she grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing tray. "Paris is here."

"Paris?" Jordan was surprised.

"Well, Dev graduated last year, so he is here to see his friends." Rory explained.

"Of course." Jordan nodded.

"Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Grant, I am so glad to see you." Catherine Huntzberger smiled as she walked towards them, embracing them each.

"Thank you again so much for having us." Rory smiled, immediately feeling as though she was back in the D.A.R, "Your home is absolutely beautiful."

"That is so nice of you." Catherine told her, "Oh just hold on one second, I want you to meet my husband. It is ridiculous that our girls have been friends for all these years but somehow we have never met!"

"Yes, of course." Rory smiled.

Jordan leaned towards Rory's ear, whispering carefully, "Never pegged you as being so good at social graces." he laughed.

Rory felt herself blushing as she saw Catherine loop her arm inside of Logan's. _Logan Huntzberger. _She had blocked him out completely, she had done her best to forget about the butterflies that she felt in her stomach every time that she heard his name, or that she saw an old photo of them together in an album, or a box. When she had cleaned out her Grandparent's house, that had been the hardest. They had pictures and keepsakes from various different events, all of which showed a happy couple, a couple that no one would ever believe would be torn apart.

Rory's breath hitched as Logan came closer, his hair a lighter shade of blonde than it had been when she last saw him 20 years earlier. It looked a lot like Mitchum's had when they had known each other. She saw the expression on his face change as he recognized her. She liked to think that she still looked the same, she still had long brown hair, only now it had a few grey's in it. Her eyes were still the same piercing blue they always had been, and her skin had remained fair and tight, Rory thanked her lack of makeup routine for her amazing skin. She looked virtually the same as she had when she was in her teens.

"Jordan and Rory Grant," Catherine smiled, "this is my husband Logan, Logan, these are Everly's parents, Jordan and Rory."

"Rory?" Logan looked at her, a wash of emotions coming over him as he heard her name again. A name that had essentially not been spoken in his presence for several decades. Logan's friends and family had all known better than to mention her after the breakup. Logan had last heard that she had moved to Washington to pursue writing, but she had never worked in a paper that Logan had owned, and there came a point that thinking about her was too heartbreaking. He had married a woman that his parents approved of, Catherine, and they had 2 kids, their oldest daughter, London, and a son named Joshua. He had heard through the grapevine that Rory had come back to Connecticut, and when Richard and Emily had passed away, he had sent flowers and made a charitable donation in their honour. He remembered the thank you card he had received, Lorelai's handwriting thanking him for his support. He remembered the handwriting from the note that Lorelai had written when Logan was begging Rory for her forgiveness. He shook his head, plastering a smile on his face, "Sorry, that is just a name I haven't heard in years, Jordan, I'm Logan Huntzberger. So nice to meet you. Everly is a great kid."

The truth was, Logan had suspected that Everly was Rory's daughter the moment he laid eyes on her. She was the spitting image of her mother, and when she laughed, if he closed his eyes, he could imagine that he and Rory were back at the apartment at Yale, watching a movie, or making dinner.

"Elle is pretty great as well." Jordan smiled as he took a firm grasp on Logan's hand.

"It's good to see you." Rory smiled as Logan gave her a quick, friendly kiss on the cheek.

"I haven't heard your name in a long time." Logan laughed, "Catherine, Jordan, we'll let you in on our secret, Rory and I went to Yale together, so we have known each other for a long time."

"You went to Yale together?" Catherine smiled, "Well it is so nice to meet another of Logan's old college friends, I'm telling you, Colin and Finn, as much as they are great, if I hear one more story about how drunk Logan was, and all the women he slept with, I don't know how I'll stand it!"

"Well, Logan...Logan was always the life of the party." Rory smiled, her grip on Jordan's hand tightening, "Mitchum and Shira were good friends with my grandparents."

"You know what, Ace," Logan smiled before immediately correcting himself, "sorry, Rory. There is something I would really like to show you. Is it alright if I steal her for a few minutes?"

"Sure?" Jordan looked at them with confusion.

Rory had never told Jordan about Logan. Sure she had told him that there was a guy she had dated seriously, but she had never told him it was Logan, or that Logan was a Huntzberger.

"We'll just be a minute," Rory assured him, placing a gentle kiss on his lips, "I love you." she smiled as she followed Logan who had given Catherine a kiss on the cheek.

They walked silently out of the ballroom and down a long hallway, Rory couldn't help but notice that there were no personal items on the walls. No photos of his wedding, or images of the kids growing up, the house was sterile, much like Mitchum and Shira's home had been. Logan led her into his office, he used a key to let himself into the room, adorned with dark walls, and mahogany furniture. Rory stood awkwardly in the entrance, shutting the door behind her as Logan began rifling through his desk.

"London?" Rory finally broke the silence, her question, or maybe it was a statement caused Logan to stop and stare absently into the drawer he was looking through. "She said you called her London because that was the only city you ever loved?"

"It was a name." Logan shrugged, still not looking up at her, he closed his eyes and remembered one particular night from the time when he and Rory were together.

_"Ace you're drunk." Logan laughed as he gently set Rory down on the bed._

_"Come to bed," Rory giggled, placing a sloppy kiss on his lips, "I can think of something fun we can do."_

_"You are drunk," Logan laughed, "I'm going to get you a bottle of water. Hold tight." he told her, they had gone out to celebrate the end of her exams, Logan for a change hadn't had anything to drink, so he knew that he would remember these moments, and these conversations, even though Rory was so drunk he knew she would never remember. _

_"Master and commander!" Rory shouted from the bed as Logan grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge._

_"Drink this." Logan told her, sitting her up and leaning her body against his chest, he opened the bottle and put it to her lips._

_"Do you want kids?" Rory slurred as she drank the water quickly._

_"Ace, this isn't the time for this conversation." Logan rolled his eyes, nothing like his drunk girlfriend trying to talk about their future. _

_"I want three kids." Rory slurred, "I want them to have each other, like you have Honor. I want them to be friends, I want them to lean on each other. I want a boy." she giggled._

_"Ace, we can talk about this later." Logan assured her, brushing a hair out of her eyes._

_"I want a boy, and two girls. I want the boy first." Rory continued, "And then, I want a daughter. I want her to be named Everly."_

_"Everly?" Logan repeated._

_"She could be ours." Rory whispered before she dozed off._

One thing Logan never knew about that conversation was that Rory had remembered it. It had taken a long time, she hadn't remembered until years later when she was just as drunk that she had been during that conversation. Once she remembered, it all made sense, she had already named her daughter Everly, but had always wondered why the name had meant so much to her.

"How did you come up with Everly?" Logan asked, still not looking up at her.

"Everly reminded me of something serene, and strong." Rory shrugged, "I always liked that name."

"She's a good kid." Logan smiled as he finally found what he had been looking for. He pulled out the yellow envelope and handed it to her.

"Logan," Rory sighed as she looked at the envelope, it clearly hadn't been opened in years, the colour had faded, and the envelope was covered in dust, "what are you doing?"

"I just...open it. You'll understand." he told her.

Rory nodded as she pulled the papers out of the envelope. She smiled as soon as she saw what she was looking at. It was the first article she had written that had made the front page of the Washington Post. Logan had happened upon it by fluke on a day that he was in Washington. Rory was covering the trial of a congressman who had reportedly traded political favours for sexual favours, and the lawyer was none other than Jordan Grant.

"Logan," she breathed as she glanced over the yellowing paper, "why did you keep this?"

"I just...I was proud of you. I want you to know that I was proud of you. We didn't work, but I loved you, and you had this great accomplishment. I ... I guess I didn't want you to think I didn't care." Logan explained quietly, suddenly feeling sheepish regarding the conversation, "It's stupid, I know. I never really thought I'd see you again. And I mean, Richard and Emily, they've been gone for like 15 years and somehow we had managed to avoid each other."

"It isn't stupid." Rory corrected him as she glanced over the article, "This is incredibly sweet. Did you know that we would be here?" she asked him, Logan was a lot of things, but he wasn't stupid, and Rory couldn't help but imagine that he knew that she was Everly's mom.

"I stopped working a few years ago," Logan explained, "I more or less became the face of the company, but didn't really continue actively working, so it meant that I got to relax, and stay home with the kids. Catherine, she loves her job, so she kept working. Anyway, I stopped working, which meant that I was home with the kids, and so I got to make sure that Elle didn't have ridiculous parties, or end up being just like Honor and I." Logan laughed, "So one day, when Elle brought home her new friend, Everly Grant, and she looked just like you...well, I had to put two and two together. Eventually I did enough research to know that she was yours, but ... well...I left it at that."

"I never even asked." Rory sighed, suddenly feeling like a bad parent, "I never asked Ev what Elle's last name was. I just let her come to your house. A nanny or a driver picking the girls up...god, I turned into my Grandparent's, didn't I?"

"No," Logan shook his head, "Everly and Elle used to talk about just how cool her parents were. So you have obviously done well. And..well...she's a great kid."

Rory smiled awkwardly, putting the newspaper back in the envelope, "Thank you Logan." she smiled as she handed the envelope back to him, "Seeing this...it means a lot."

"I'm proud of you, Ace."

Rory smiled, she had always loved the way that name sounded coming off of his lips. Rory stepped forward after Logan had slipped the envelope back in the drawer, she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a close hug. "Thank you."

xxx

"How do you know him?" Jordan asked as they got into his car.

"Pardon?" Rory smiled as she tucked her hair behind her ear. They had stayed at the party for another round of drinks, and a couple of speeches, including one by Honor who had looked shocked when her eyes connected with Rory in the crowd.

"Logan. You obviously knew him, how did you two know each other?" Jordan rephrased his question.

"Jordan," Rory rolled her eyes, "we were in the same social circles, we were friends. It was nothing important."

"What did he show you?" Jordan asked as he drove out of the driveway.

Rory let out a long sigh, this was the reason that she had never told Jordan about Logan. One thing she had learned early in their courtship was that Jordan was fiercely protective, but sometimes his protective nature came off as being more jealous than anything else. "Jordan, he had a copy of my first front page article. We knew each other eons ago, and so when he saw that I had done well for myself, he saved it." she shrugged.

"He saved it?"

"We dated Jordan, a long time ago." Rory sighed, annoyed that she was even entertaining the conversation as they drove back to Stars Hollow. "Long enough ago that you and I have a 17 year old daughter, and a 20 year long relationship."

Jordan nodded as they drove in silence, leaving Rory to consider the events of the evening.

_"My beautiful London," Honor smiled, her grey hair wrapped into a tight bun at the base of her neck as she spoke. She had aged much more gracefully than Shira had, Honor had stayed somewhat natural in her age, "I am so proud of you today. You know, as your Aunt I always got to spoil you, and be fun while your parents were hard on you about things. But I am so glad that you seem to have taken after your parents. You have grown into such a mature, and responsible adult, you are just," Honor fumbled over the words, her eyes had scanned the crowd and landed on Rory. Rory Gilmore was standing in the ballroom, at her niece's graduation party, in her brothers house. "you are just," she smiled as she tried to regain her composure, "so not like your Dad when he was your age. Sure, he grew up in his twenties, but ask anyone who knew him until his sophomore year of college, he was never as responsible as you are. So sweetie, I am so proud of you." Honor raised her glass. "Here's to you."_

"What are you thinking?" Jordan asked as they pulled into their driveway, interrupting Rory's thoughts.

"I'm sorry." Rory smiled, giving Jordan's hand a squeeze.

"What are you sorry for?" Jordan asked, shutting off the car as he parked it.

"Let's go inside and get a bottle of wine." Rory smiled as she stepped out of the car, "I'll tell you inside."

Jordan nodded, clearly worried about what was about to be discussed as the two walked silently into the house, Jordan unlocking the door and letting Rory in before him.

"I never told you about Logan." Rory smiled as she opened a bottle of rose from the wine fridge, "And now, you have met him, and you obviously know something has happened." she explained as she poured two glasses, handing one to her husband. "The first thing I should do is tell you is that I love you, and what I am going to tell you Jordan, doesn't mean that I don't love you. It just means that there is something that I didn't tell you a long time ago."

Jordan swallowed the lump appearing his his throat, clearly worrying about what was going to be said next.

"Come on," Rory gave him a reassuring smile as she sat down on the couch, smiling as Jordan sat next to her, "I'll tell you." Rory took a deep breath before she began speaking, "I met Logan when I was in my junior year of college. We were both going to Yale, I was...well...you know who I am, I was the same person then. I loved school, I loved learning, books, I worked on the newspaper, you know all that about me. So when I met Logan, he was a playboy, he had a different girl on his arm every single time I saw him, and eventually we ended up being friends. Not on purpose," Rory explained, her eyes sparkling as she spoke, "Logan was a part of Yale's elite, hell, he is a part of America's elite, that much hasn't changed. He was a part of a club, a society at Yale that I wanted to write a story about, and so Logan helped me with that story."

"And so 20 years later your eyes still sparkle when you talk about him?" Jordan asked her, feeling more insecure than he had in their entire relationship.

"I was young." Rory shrugged, "And back then, things were exciting, which is what I needed at that age, but now, things are exactly as they are supposed to be." Rory assured him before clearing her throat. "Logan and I went from being friends, to being friends with benefits, which is something I had never done, and then, Logan found that suddenly he didn't love the idea of being _my _friend with benefits." she told him, taking a long sip of wine. "So for months, we had this struggle. Back and forth, and one day Logan Huntzberger, king of the one night stand, told me that he wanted to be my boyfriend." Rory smiled as she thought back on the memory. "Jordan, I didn't tell you about Logan because there were some things that happened that broke my heart, and even worse, I broke his heart. You never set out to break someone's heart the way that I broke his heart, but it happened. So that is why I never talked about him."

Rory took a long pause, looking at Jordan to try to see how he would react to finding out that she had thought Logan Huntzberger was the one, how he had asked her to marry him, and she had asked for more time, and he had left. She didn't know how to tell him that if Logan had agreed to wait, if he had just waited a few months, or another year, she would have gladly spent the rest of her life with him.

"We dated, and it was one of those relationships with the highest of highs, and the lowest of lows, but we loved each other. When Logan was finished school, he moved to London."

"London?" Jordan cut her off.

"Yes, London. I spent Christmas and school breaks with him there, and we just...we ran around the city, stayed in bed all day, it was like there was nothing else in the world other than the two of us."

"He named his daughter London. Our daughter's best friend is _London Huntzberger, _you're telling me the happiest times of your relationship were in that city, and you expect me to believe that his naming his daughter London was some weird coincidence?"

"I don't care what you believe. I didn't ask him to name her London, that's her name, and whatever the reason that he and his _wife _came up with that name, it isn't our business." Rory told him honestly. "The last time I saw Logan Hunzberger was the day he walked away from me at my college graduation after I said no when he asked me to marry him."

"You were engaged before we met?"

"No," Rory shook her head, knowing Jordan would twist her words and be angry for a few minutes, but also know that he would calm down in just as many minutes, "I said no, and we broke up. I went to work on Obama's campaign trail and then I came to Washington, and I got a job, and I met you."

"So it was over? He walked away, and you were over?"

"I saw him again for the first time 20 years later, today." Rory took another sip of wine. "Logan was what I would call my first real love, and no, I don't talk about him, but Jord, it's not because I don't love you, but because he was a part of my path to getting to where I am today, and today is all that matters."


End file.
